5 Social Media Tips for Jobseekers

More jobseekers than ever are turning to sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to find their next gig; these social media tips are sure to help them put their best foot forward.

Pay attention to lingo. Recruiters scour LinkedIn for profiles that contain keywords similar to ones their clients use. Examine relevant job postings and integrate appropriate keywords into the Summary and Experience sections of your LinkedIn profile.

Solicit strong recommendations. When asking for LinkedIn recommendations, call out specific facets of your work that you’d like the colleague to highlight.

Share wisely. Unfortunately, ageism is a real phenomenon in today’s job climate. Andy Beal, the CEO of social media monitoring company Trackur, spoke with CIO about a Hollywood producer whose Google profile betrayed his year of birth, resulting in age discrimination. “Once a cat like that is out of the bag, it’s hard to put it back in,” adds Beal. “It becomes a matter of public record. That’s why I counsel everyone to never [list] your date of birth or anything else you don’t want to end up all over the Internet. If nothing else, the more information someone can piece together about yuo, the greater the potential for identity theft.”

Start the reputation management process early. Enter your name in search engines well as early in the job hunt as possible to ensure the results are relevant. You don’t want profane tweets ranking above, say, your LinkedIn profile or personal website. If you’re using Google, make sure to use the “Hide Personal Results” feature to ensure you’re seeing what strangers see.

Have a strategy for each social media site.Two-thirds of recruiters lurk Facebook profiles while looking for candidates, and 80 percent of those recruiters are looking specifically for membership in professional organizations. If you’re into philanthropy, create an album with photos you’ve snapped at events.